On April 2nd, the City of Chicago and Cook County will begin joint enforcement of cigarette taxes. City and County investigators and prosecutors have been cross-trained and are authorized to enforce both City and County tax stamp requirements.

This initiative is part of a series of recently announced city-county collaborations. The Joint Committee on City-County Collaboration (Joint Committee) was established in March 2011 to recommend ways the City and County could streamline services, improve residents’ interactions with government, and reduce costs. In June 2011, the Joint Committee issued a report describing 19 areas for collaboration and projected savings in the range of $66 million – $140 million by 2014.

In September 2011, the committee announced $11.3 million in annual savings and new revenue had been identified, and a twentieth area of collaboration was added: Anti-Violence and Community Stabilization Strategies. The second quarter of the collaboration has realized an additional $9.2 million in savings, bringing the total to $20.5 million.

For the ordinance authorizing this collaboration, click here.

For a press announcement, click here.